ARTS BRIEFING

By Ben Sisario

Published: November 26, 2003

HIGHLIGHTS

BRITAIN: REMBRANDT PRINT FOUND IN THRIFT SHOP -- It was the kind of discovery an art lover -- or anyone who knows the value of classic art -- fantasizes about. In September a woman who just happens to be a painting expert for Cheffins, a British auction house, found a 17th-century Rembrandt print at a thrift shop in central England, The Independent reported. The print, ''A Beggar Man and a Beggar Woman Conversing,'' above, was in a box destined for the trash in the Emmaus charity shop for the homeless, in Carlton, Bedfordshire. Though only 8 by 7 centimeters (about 3.1 by 2.8 inches) and most likely made after Rembrandt's death in 1669, the print is said to be worth £800 (about $1,350). The original copper-plate etching was made by Rembrandt in 1630. Cheffins is to sell the item at auction on Dec. 4 on behalf of the shop.

THEATER: 'TAKE ME OUT' TO CLOSE -- ''Take Me Out,'' Richard Greenberg's Tony Award-winning play about a gay baseball star, will close after its Sunday matinee performance on Jan. 4. The play, at the Walter Kerr Theater on West 48th Street, won Tonys for best play, best direction of a play (by Joe Mantello) and featured actor in a play (Denis O'Hare). The show will have run for 27 previews and 356 regular performances.

PHOTOGRAPHY: MONET'S GARDEN, NEVER MIND THE COLOR -- Claude Monet's garden at Giverny, a small town on the Seine about 50 miles northwest of Paris, fell into disrepair in the decades after his death in 1926. Restoration began in 1977 when the Institut de France hired Gérald Van der Kemp, who had restored Versailles, and Giverny has become a popular destination for artists as well as tourists. One of the most persistent visitors has been the American photographer William Messer, whose visits since 1984 are the subject of an exhibition at the French Institute/Alliance Française in Manhattan that begins today. But while Monet's own images have come to symbolize the color worship of the Impressionists, Mr. Messer's photographs are in black and white, showing details of the area and reflections in the water that border on abstraction. ''I wanted to avoid the trap of trying to replicate Monet's palette,'' Mr. Messer said. The show runs through Jan. 8.

BRITAIN: ART PRANKSTER GOES TO JAIL -- Aaron Barschak, a British comedian known for public pranks, has called himself a ''comedy terrorist,'' and now he has been punished like a criminal. Mr. Barschak was sentenced on Monday to 28 days in jail for throwing red paint over the artist Jake Chapman at a gallery in Oxford, The Independent reported. Mr. Barschak yelled ''Viva Goya'' when he hurled the paint at Mr. Chapman, who has been nominated for the Turner Prize. A judge found Mr. Barschak guilty of criminal damage. Mr. Barschak found notoriety after crashing Prince William's 21st birthday party in June dressed as Osama bin Laden. For that stunt, he scaled a wall before climbing onto a stage where Prince William was giving a speech. He managed to kiss the prince on both cheeks before being arrested, but was not charged.

TELEVISION: 'K STREET' ENDS -- HBO has retired ''K Street,'' the documentary-style series about Washington lobbyists by the movie director Steven Soderbergh, left. The series, which recently completed its run of 10 episodes, had its debut on Sept. 14. Daily Variety reported on Monday that Mr. Soderbergh and George Clooney, two of the show's executive producers, hope to return to HBO with another limited-run series in a similar format.

SAN ANTONIO: ORCHESTRA CHIEF RESIGNS -- The executive director of the financially troubled San Antonio Symphony is stepping down. The resignation of Steven Brosvik who has had the job for two years, will take effect on Dec. 6. His announcement came as a surprise, an orchestra spokesman said, and there is no replacement for him yet. The orchestra declared bankruptcy in July, but last month its musicians accepted a four-year contract specifying a minimum of 26 weeks of performances a year.

FOOTNOTES

A new violin competition is to begin in Moscow tomorrow. The Moscow Paganini Violin Competition, with 30 contestants, will begin its first round in the Moscow Conservatory and the finalists will compete on Monday at the Moscow International House of Music. The panel of judges will be led by Sergei Stadler, who won first prize in the Tchaikovsky Competition in 1982. . . . A German film swept the Stockholm International Film Festival this year. Michael Schorr's ''Schultze Gets the Blues,'' about a retired man in a small German town who travels to Louisiana to feed his passion for zydeco music, won awards for best film, best script and best new director. Mr. Schorr also won a prize at the Venice International Film Festival this year. David Lynch, the American director, was given a lifetime achievement award.

Photos: BROADWAY CARES -- ''Auntie Mame'' returned for a cause, when Charles Busch, left, and Marian Seldes presented a reading of the play on Monday, sponsored by Equity Fights Aids. (Photo by Richard Termine for The New York Times)